Powdered soap dispenser



March 5, 1935. w A, DUDLEY PowDERED soAP DISPENSER .lled Sept. 11, 1934 FIGS..

INVENTOR. [40u/4M 67. 7l/aux BY /7 ATTORNEY.

Patented Mar. 5, 1935 l l i UNITED STATES l PATENT OFFICE POWDERED SOAP DISPENSER William A. Dudley, Los Angeles, Calif., Vassigner to Pacific Coast Borax Co., a corporation of Nevada Application september Ii1, 1934, serial No. 743,526 11 claims. (ci. 221;-62)

This invention has to do in a general way. with valve or plunger. This object is accomplished dispensing apparatus and is more particularly by providing the valve or plunger body with related .to dispensers for powdered soap and the notches or pockets positioned so asto be pushed likesuch as are used in public lavatories, factory up into the material in the container where such wash rooms, etc., and in which it is highly dematerial caves or falls into the pockets and is 5 sirable that the powdered soap be delivered in withdrawn from the container when the plunger a relatively small quantity, depending Yon a body is released. The pockets or notches are manual operation, into the same hand which efpositioned at an intermediate point on the plungfects the dispensing operation. I am aware of er body, and the travel of the plunger is limited 1U the fact that numerous dispensers have been deso that a portion thereof below these notches-ocl0 signed with this general objective in mind and cupies the discharge opening and is eifective to have met with varying degrees of success, declose the same when the plunger is in its upperpending upon their construction. most position.

The soap dispenser contemplated by this in- In order to prevent the possibility of packing,

l5 vention is of the so-called valve type in that Such as might occur if the plunger member were l5 the discharge opening is normally closed by a Working directly through an Opening in a 0011ibody member which is adapted to receive loncal or tapered bottom, -I provide the bottom of gitudinal reciprocation from the user or opermy container with a substantially at portion ator. In prior devices of this same general con- Which Surrounds the discharge opening, and by struction, with which I am familiar, the body forming the notches or pockets so that their in- 20 member which acts as a valve for closing'the ner surfaces are downwardly divergent, and terdischarge opening has a conical or flanged s'urminate in substantially square shoulders at their face which is normally adapted to rest in pres.- upper ends, I have discovered that these square vvsure bearing engagement with a seat formed shoulders co-operate with this at bottom surabout the discharge opening. When using a, face to shear or crush any lumps which may be 25 material such as soap which has a tendency to in the material in the' container. The substancake or agglomerate, especially under humid or tially square shoulders are further effective to moist conditions, it has been found in the oppositively withdraw all of the material contained eration of devices of this character the dispenser in the pockets from the container and the downis soon rendered inoperative due to the building wardly divergent surfaces are effective to de- 80 up or accumulation of material between the valve .liver all of such material from the notches o and its seat. This necessitates frequently'emptypockets intothe hand of the user. ing the container and cleaning the valvel and -j I consider ita still` further feature of this iriseat before it can again be successfully operated vvention that these pockets or notches are cir- Y and, forvthis reason, the so-called valve type cumferentially arranged about the plunger so as 85 of dispenser has never been considered satisfacto leave uninterrupted longitudinal lines or areas tory for use in connection withpowdered soap. throughout the entire length of the plunger It therefore becomes a primary object of this thereby providing a positive guide which preinvention to provide a soap dispenser of the vents the plunger being swung to one side and 40 general class' described with a novel form of held to permit the contents of the container be- 40 valve construction in which the closure of .the ing run out without manipulating the plunger. discharge opening is not dependent upon the The plunger in the dispenser contemplated by pressure engagement of a valve with a seat but this. invention is mounted upon or formed inis effected by means of a body which is freely tegrally with a stem which is suspended from a slidable through the discharge opening and suitable support in the container and is provided 45 which, in the region normally contained in the with stop means to limit its longitudinal movedischarge opening, is of substantially the same ment, such stop means being eiective to give a cross sectional size and shape as Vthe opening. distinct jarring action at each end of the move- The body just referred to will be in the nature of ment whereby the pockets are effectively lled x an elongated cylinder when the discharge openand emptied. I consider it a further feature of 50 ing is circular. y y, this invention to form the plunger of substantially Itis a further object of this invention to progreater cross sectional areas than the stem so as vide a dispenser of the class described with means to provide a wide shoulder at the top of the plungfor roughly controlling the amount of material er which I have found to be a most satisfactory which is dispensed with each operation of the means of agitating the material in the container and assuring its free delivery in the notches or pockets. n

VThe details in the construction of certain preferred forms of my invention, together with other objects attending its production, will be best understood from the following description of. the accompanying drawing, which is chosen for illustrative purposes only, and in which Fig. 1 is a vertical section with parts shown in `outside elevation illustrating a preferred form of my invention;l Y.

Fig. 21is a plan section taken in a plane represented by the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan section along the/line 3-3 of Fig. 1; l

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary section showing a slightly modified construction and illustrating the action of this improved type of vyalve plungerI contemplated by this invention;

Fig. 5 is a plan section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a` fragmentary elevationwith parts.- broken away, showing a modified form of valve plunger;l and l Fig. 7 is a plan section on the line 7--7 of Fig. 6. More particularly describing the invention as herein i11ustratedreference numeral 11 indicates a container which has a bottom 12 and is provided with a cover cap 13. The cover cap 13V is shown'as being securely locked in place upon the container through the medium of a bayonet lock 14 and a double slotted countersunk set screw 15. The container is adapted to be mounted upon a wall or other suitable support in any desired manner such as by means of the clamp and bracket assembly generally indicated by ref.- erence numeral 16. The bottom 12 ofthe container is shown as being conical or tapered in form and 4for the purposepointed out hereinabove such bottom is provided with a substantiallyflat portion 17 which surrounds a discharge opening 18.

Reference numeral 19 indicates what I have.

termed a valveplunger body which is' secured to or Aformedintegrally with a stem 20, vsuch stem having its upper end extending through an aperture in a cross-member 21, where it is provided with a pin or other suitable stop means indicated at 22, adapted to engage the cross member and suspend the plunger 19 so that it is normally positioned with an intermediate portion thereof occupying the discharge opening. The stem 20 is provided with a.- shoulder or other suitable stop 23 which is situated below the cross member 21 and. is adapted-.tombek raised into engagement with the cross member to limit the upward movement of the plunger. andalso to impart a distint jarring actiontotue/contents of the con- -tainer when the plunger'fis operated.

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It will be` observed that thefplung'erl member 19 is made veryfmuch larger than'thestem 20, thereby forming a substantial shoulder lon #the top of the plunger which, as has fbeenffpointedout above'y is eifective to materiallya'gitate thecontents of the container. u I

A 'Ihe plunger memberf19 which in-the'case of a circular discharge opening, is inthe `:nature of yan elongated cylinder, is of-lla'j'sizesuclrthat 'it'fisf freely slidable in the discharge openingan'dnwillat the same time be eifcectivetoclose--tliesame` plunger with a plurality of undercut notches or pockets, generally indicated by reference numeral 25. These pockets have downwardly divergent inner surfaces and terminate at their upper ends in shoulders 26 which are substantially square. The plunger is suspended so that the shoulders 26"' fall inl a plane below the upper edge of the discharge opening or lie in a position such that the discharge opening is effectively closed by the top portion of the plunger member. The length of the pockets or notches is preferably slightly less than the distance from the shoulder 23 to the bottom of the cross member 21 so that when the plunger is pushed into its uppermost position, where the shoulder 23 engages the cross member 21, the discharge opening is substantially closed by that portion of the plunger at or below the bottom pockets or the notches 25. From this construction it will be seen that no material can flow from the container as long as the plunger is held in its uppermost position, and when the plunger is released, the material contained within the notches 25 is substantially all that is carried from the container and delivered into the hand of the user. In operation the release of the plunger is followed by a distinct jarring action resulting from the pin 22 engaging the cross member 21, which assures afcomplete delivery ,of all the material from the pockets.

For the purpose of actuating the plunger member, I provide the same with; another stem indicated at 28 which extends a substantial distance below the bottom of the plunger.

In order to prevent water being splashed against the surfaces of the plunger, or into the container when the plunger is being operated, I provide the container with a tapered false bottom 29 which is shown as being of conical shape and may be secured in any suitable manner such as by means of welding or screws 30 to the bottom lportion of the container. This false bottom is provided with anbpening 31 which, to facilitate removal of the plunger for cleaning purposes, is made of substantially the same diameter asvthe dischargeopening 18; In this form of my invention the only operations necessary to remove the plunger are the removal of the cover cap 13 and the pin 22, after which the plunger can be withdrawn through the openings 18 and 31.

The forni of my inuention shown in Fig. 4 is the same in its generalconstruction and operation `t that just described in connection with Figs.- 1 to 3, inclusive, and corresponding parts \are indicated by the same reference numerals Adistinguished by the prime mark. In Fig. 4 I show the dispenser as being provided with a false bottom 29', the opening 31 of which is substantially smaller than the discharge opening of the dispenser body. In using this type of construction it is advisable to make the false bottom detachable and this may be done in various ways. In the form shown, I show the false bottom as being attached to the dispenser body through the medium of bayonet -pin locks 40 and Ia double slotted set screw 41.4 Fig.' 4 shows the plunger member 19 as having been moved into its uppermost position and clearly illustrates the manner in which the shoulder 26 .and the flat bottom portion 17 will co-operate to'A shear or crush a lump of material such as is indicated infdotted and prevent 'egress of the -contents-'of "thr'efm'a-'T lines by ,reference numeral 42.

For the purpose of deliverin'ga small quantity the plunger is roughly'measured by the pockets orl notches and by varying the sizes of the plungers and the number and size of the notches the dispensers may be made to discharge various amounts of material. I have found in actual operation thatthe larger sizes of plungers have certain advantages over smaller plungers. In the rst place, the greater weight obtained makes for a more positive'operation; secondlyfIam able to obtain a greater area in .the shoulder 19 for the purpose of agitating the material; and, third, the notches or pockets do not need to be so deep to discharge a given amount of material so that the possibility of holding the plunger at an in-` termediate point and permitting the contents of the container to drain out is greatly reduced.

Figs. 3, 5, 6 and 7 illustratefvarious suggestive arrangements of notches which may be employed in the plunger member. Fig. 3 is a section of the plunger shown in Fig. 1 which has three notches cut on chords of the cross sectional circle and spaced apart so as to leave curved bearing areas 45 therebetween. These bearingv areas 45, being in constant engagement with the discharge opening 18, when the notched portion of the plunger is passing therethrough, constitute guides for the plunger which prevent its being swung to one side as discussed in the early part of the specication. Fig. 5, which is a section. of the plunger shown in Fig. 4, illustrates a construction having four notches which, it vwill be noted, 'are not as deep as the notches 25 and leave bearing sur'- faces 45'.

In Figs. 6 and-7 I show a plunger construction which is provided with a relatively large number of narrow groove type notches or pockets, instead of asmall number of wide notches. This type of construction may be found more desirable in extremely large plungers, where the notches of the type shown in Fig. 5, for example, would necessarily be quite deep and deliver a large quantity of material.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the device contemplated by this invention is of extremely simple construction, can be easily and quickly assembledL taken apartfand cleaned, and it is substantially fool proof? in its operation.

It is to be understood that while I have herein described and illustrated certain preferred form's of my invention, the invention is not limited tov the precise construction explained above but in-,. cludes within its scope whatever lchanges fairly come within the spirit of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention: 1 l. A dispenser for powdered soap and the like embodying: a container havingoa substantially flat wall surface surrounding an opening in its bottom; a plunger valve mounted for free longitudinal movement in said opening, said plunger `valve being provided with. downwardly divergent notches terminating in substantially square shoulders at their upperuends; means `for supporting said valve against downward movement so that aportion thereof above said shoulders closes said opening when said valve is in its lowermost position; and means for limiting theN upward movements of said valve so that saidA opening may be substantially closed by a portion of said valve body at the bottom of said notches when the valve is moved toits uppermost position. v

2. A dispenser for powdered soap and the like embodying: al container having a substantially.

iiat wall surface surrounding an opening in its bottom; a plunger'valve mounted for free longi- 'notches terminating tudinal movement in said opening, said plunger body at the bottom of said notches when the valve is moved to .its uppermost position.

3. A dispenser for powdered soap and the like embodying: a container having a substantially flat wall surface surrounding an opening in its bottom; a plunger valve mounted for free longitudinal movement in said opening, said plunger valve being provided with downwardly divergent notches terminating in substantially square shoulders at their upper ends; means including a stem mounted on said valvefor supporting said valve against downward movement so that a portion thereof above ,said shouders closes said opening .when said valve isY in its lowermost position; and means comprising a shoulder on said stem and a stop in said container adapted to beengaged by said shoulder for limiting the up-L ward movement of said valve so that said opening may be substantially `closed by a portion of said valve body at the bottom of said notches when the valve is moved to its uppermost position.

'4. A dispenser for powdered material embodying: a container having a substantially flat wall surface surrounding a discharge opening -in its bottom; a substantially cylindrical plunger valve in said opening; means supporting said valve for longitudinal movement in said opening;l and `means associated with said support for limiting the movement of said plunger so that it is alwaysv contained within said opening, said plungi 1 er being provided with downwardly divergent in substantially. square shoulders at their upper ends and positioned so that said shoulders are below the upper edge ofsaid bottom opening when said plunger is in its lowermost position.

5. A dispenser for powdered material embodying: a container having a substantially at wall surface surrounding a discharge opening in its bottom; a substantially cylindrical plungervalve in said opening; means supporting said valve for longitudinal movement in said opening; and.

means associated with' said lsupport for 'limiting the movement of said plunger so that it is al ways contained within said opening, saidplunger being provided with downwardly divergent Anotches terminating in substantially square shoulders at their upper ends andpositioned so that saidl shoulders are below the upper edge of said bottom opening when said plunger is in its -lowermost position, said notches being circumferentially arranged s'o as toleave uninterrupted guide surfaces throughout the length of said plunger.

6. A dispenser' for powdered material embodya discharge opening; an elongated plunger body of slightly less diameter than said. opening throughout its length whereby it is freely slidable through said opening and constitutes a closure therefor; a stem secured to the, top of .said plunger; and means in said container for supporting said stem so that the 4upper portion of ing: a container having a bottom provided with said plunger normally closes ysaid opening, said plunger being provided with a plurality of downwardly divergent notches' terminating -at their upper ends in shoulders situated below the said upper portion of said body.

7. A dispenser for powdered material embodying: a container having a -bottom provided with a discharge opening; an elongated plunger body of slightly less diameter thanl said opening throughout its length whereby it is freely slidable through said opening and constitutes a closure therefor; a stem secured to the top of said plunger; means in said container for supporting said stem so that the upper portion of said plunger normally closes said opening, the" intermediate portion of said plunger being provided with notches which terminate at their upper ends in substantially square shoulders situated below the .said upper portion of said body; and stop means on said stem for limiting the of said plunger.

8. A dispenser for powdered material embody- Ving: a container having a bottom provided with a' dischargef opening; an elongated plunger body of slightly less diameter than said opening throughout its' length whereby it is freely slidable through said opening and constitutes aiclosure therefor; a stem secured to the top of said plunger; means in said container for supporting said stem so that the upper portion of said plunger normally closes said opening, the intermediate portion of said plunger being provided with notches which terminate at their upper ends in substantially square shoulders situated below the said upper portion of said body; and stop means on said stem for limiting the upward movement of said-plunger, said plunger having a bottom portion below said notches adapted to close the opening when the plunger is in its uppermost position.

9. A dispenser for powdered material embodying: a container having a bottom provided with a discharge opening an elongated plunger body of slightly less diameter than said opening throughout its length whereby it is freely slidable through said opening and constitutes a closure therefor; a stem secured to the top of said plunger; means in said container for supporting,

said stem so that the upper portion of said plunger normally closes said opening, the intermediate portion of said plunger being providedy with notches which terminate at their upper ends in substantially square shoulders situated below the said upper portion of said `body; and. stop means on said stem for limitingffIi/UWard movement of said plunger, said plunger being of upward movementmuch greater diameter than said stem, thereby providing a shoulder for agitating material in said container lduring upward movement of said plunger'.

10. A dispenser for powdered soap and the like embodyingz/a container having a'lsubstantially fiat bottom surface surrounding a discharge opening in its bottom; a cross member Ain said container having an aperture situated above said discharge opening; a stem slidably mounted in s aid aperture; stop means on said stem above and below said cross member for limiting the longitudinal movement of said stem through said aperture; and aqilungerv member secured to said stem in said discharge opening andextending fora substantial distance above and below said discharge opening, said plunger member being provided with downwardly -fdivergent notches terminating in substantially square shoulders at their upper ends and situated so that said discharge opening is closed by a portion of said plunger above said Vnotches when said plunger is in its uppermost position, said notches being of members on said stem whereby said discharge opening is closed by a bottom portion of said plunger when it is in its uppermost position.

'11. A dispenser for powdered soap and the like embodying: a`l container having a substantially at bottom ysurface surrounding a discharge opening in'its bottom; a crossmember in said container having an aperture situated above said discharge opening; a stem slidably mounted in said opening;` stop means on said stem above and below said cross member for limiting the longi'- tudinal movement of said stem through said aperture; a plunger member secured to said stem in said discharge opening and extending for a substantial distance above'and below said discharge opening, said plunger membervbeing provided'with downwardly divergent notches terminating in substantially square shoulders at their on said /stem whereby said discharge opening is closed by a bottom portion of said plunger when it is in its uppermost position; a tapered false bottom mounted on said container with an opening below said discharge opening; and another stem secured to th bottom of said plunger and extending a substantial distance below said false bottom.

WILLIAM A. DUDLEY. 

